Thursday, 12 September 2013

Hyper Rev Magazine Vol. 159

Hyper Rev magazine is something of a bible in the world of Japanese car tuning and modification. Each issue is dedicated to a particular model of car and contains listings and features on the various aftermarket companies and the parts they have available, there're also interviews with key people and various other articles and advertisements. Popular models will feature in multiple issues, so far there have been eight magazines dedicated to the Roadster: volumes 1, 14, 51, 73, 92, 111, 149, and 159. These magazines are quite collectible and always in demand from enthusiasts, especially any out of print originals from the early 90s.

You can sometimes pick up used copies on eBay but you don't always know what quality you will get. Of course being a Japanese magazine, the articles and features are all written in Japanese, but it's surprising just how much you can pick up from looking at the pictures and adverts. Here I'm looking at the most recent Roadster issue which is volume 159, published in 2011. I got my copy new from Amazon Japan and it was delivered in four days by DHL via South Korea, Hong Kong, and Germany.

Hyper Rev costs 2000 JPY, which is about £15, but you'll need to pay a little more again to get it to your door, though fortunately there is no VAT on books & magazines. Mine arrived in a cardboard box shrink-wrapped to a cardboard backing sheet and seems to have survived its trip intact. The magazine actually reads back to front which may confuse you at first. This issue has a feature on the NC demo cars of various well known names such as Nopro, Do Engineering, and Over Drive. There's an interview with Takao Kijima, adverts from the likes of Racing Beat and AutoExe, features on aero parts, exhausts, electronics, wheels, tyres, interior bits, and just about every part you could hope for is included. Highly recommended, here's a few pictures to show you what you're missing.